This invention relates generally to the field of radar devices, and more particularly to an improved radar decoy serving to confuse radar guided weapons. It is known in the art to provide decoy devices which are dropped, fired, towed or otherwise deployed from the aircraft to be protected. The decoy device forms a preferred target for the enemy weapon guidance system resulting in the weapon missing the target by a sufficient distance to result in survival of the attack by the target.
Present decoy devices depend upon accurately setting a transmitter on the frequency of the target radar before ejection or having a complicated receiving apparatus on board the decoy device to allow generating of the required decoy signal. Present towed devices contain a broadband receiver and transmitter which has a large dynamic range and high power capability, as the result of which it is inherently expensive.
A disadvantage of fixed set-on devices is that they must be accurately pre-programmed to simulate the expected Doppler return of the protected target, even though they may be moving at a different velocity with respect to the enemy radar. In addition, the second order modulations characteristic of the target must be programmed into the device to realistically simulate the signature of the target radar.
Towed repeater devices which contain a receiver transmitter device as well as a techniques generator must have sufficient isolation between the transmitter and the receiver to avoid self-oscillation. This requirement is often difficult to satisfy in the case of a small device, and usually demands a sophisticated antenna design.